


End of an Era

by astudyinfic



Series: A December of Ty and Zane [19]
Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Canon Divergence, Coming Out, M/M, Retirement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-23 02:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17071874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinfic/pseuds/astudyinfic
Summary: Zane walks out of the Baltimore office a free man; retired and ready to live his life with the man he loves.Day 19:All the possibilities





	End of an Era

**Author's Note:**

> My first (intentional) canon divergence.

The day started like any other.  Long minutes in bed with Ty, kisses and touches that turned heated quickly.  Zane was running late before he even left the bed but, in all honesty, he didn’t care.  They weren’t going to fire him, after all. He could afford to walk in five minutes late for a change.  

He did make Ty keep his hands to himself in the shower, however. 

_ Mostly. _

With a quick kiss goodbye, Zane headed for work, knowing Ty would roll in fashionably late as always.  Ty excelled at his job, the best agent Zane knew, but office work was not his thing. 

Once at work, Zane started in right away, ignoring the well-meaning teasing from the rest of the group about his wayward partner and the fact that Ty only showed up after Zane finished the paperwork.  “How is he going to survive when he has to do it himself?” Alston asked.

Zane simply smiled and replied, “After five o’clock today, that is no longer my problem.”  It probably wouldn’t be the team’s problem much longer either but they didn’t need to know it yet.  

When Ty showed up, he winked at Zane and went to his own desk to do whatever it was he did when he was there.  It certainly wasn’t paperwork.

The day passed quickly, with some cake in the break room at lunch, but otherwise completely normal.  

Ty, to everyone’s surprise, was the first to leave, offering his hand to Zane with a smirk that sent bolts of desire straight down Zane’s spine.  “It’s been fun, Garrett. Here’s hoping you don’t get shot at quite as much now that you’re retired.”

“We can only hope,” Zane replied and shook his lover’s hand, letting his fingers graze over the sensitive skin of Ty’s inner wrist for just a moment.  “It’s been an adventure, Grady. End of an era.”

With a shrug, Ty answered, “But the start of something new.”  And it was. When he walked out the door today, Zane would be a civilian for the first time since he was in college.  That thought didn’t terrify him nearly as much as he thought it would. “Later. See you all on Monday.” 

He watched Ty go, knowing he would see him the moment he got home.  They made it. All these years working together and never outed themselves to anyone at work.  Now they were free and Zane couldn’t wait to live an open life with the man he loved. 

As the day came to an end, Zane shook hands with McCoy and walked out with the rest of his team.  For the last seven years, these people had been like a family to him and while he hated keeping such a big secret from them, he knew they would understand.  The rules against fraternization might have been unofficial but the Bureau took them seriously. There would have been repercussions for both of them if anyone found out.

The team all said their goodbyes as they left the building, talking about meeting up at the bar later to celebrate and Zane said he might even show up to his own retirement party.  Maybe, depending on how he and Ty wanted to celebrate when he got home. 

That morning Zane had worried about how he would feel when he left the building for the last time, wondered if it would be painful to leave something behind that had been such a big part of his life.  But instead of any melancholy or distress, he felt nothing but peace. He was out now and Ty would soon follow. Their lives were theirs to do with as they pleased and the possibilities were endless. 

They could even open that flower shop, if they wanted.

“What’s Grady still doing here?”  Perrimore’s voice pulled Zane from his thoughts and he smiled as he saw his lover leaning against the side of his truck.  “I thought he went home.”

For a brief moment, Zane held himself back, the worry about outing them still well-engrained in his mind.  But as he caught up with the day’s events, Zane jogged forward until he was face to face with the man he loved.  “Can I?” he asked quietly, knowing Ty would have to deal with everyone’s questions on Monday. 

“Baby, you never have to ask that anymore,” Ty replied and Zane’s heart leaped in his chest.  He closed the distance between them, kissing him with a relative chaste press of lips. But even that gave Zane butterflies, even after all this time.  They eventually pulled apart, smiling at one another. “Happy retirement, darlin’.”

Before Zane could reply, Lassiter yelled from across the parking lot, “What the hell was that?”  

“That was me kissing my husband,” Zane replied, not taking his eyes off Ty.  Ty grinned and Zane knew he was as elated as Zane was. They’d carried that secret for so long and they were finally free.  

The rest of the team caught up, staring at them both like they’d lost their minds.  “Husband? Since when?”

“Two years this February.  Couldn’t exactly tell you guys.”  The way everyone’s eyes went wide caused them both to laugh.  Ty rolled his eyes, wrapping an arm around Zane’s waist. “Did you seriously never consider the fact that we have been living together for almost six years?  Or the fact that neither of us ever talked about our personal lives? Or that we always went home with one another to visit our families? You all are crap agents if you never figured it out.”  

Never before had Zane seen anyone’s minds work that hard, realizing that what Ty said was true.  Alston frowned, “But there was that girl you were texting a few years ago, Grady. Lone Star or something like that.”

Zane wondered if he might hurt himself, rolling his eyes as hard as he did.  “Where am I from, Scott? I’m Lone Star. He’s Meow Mix.” 

He danced away from Ty when his husband elbowed him in the ribs, laughing at Ty’s muttered, “Yes, thanks for that.  I will have to work with them next week.”

“But, why now?” Lassiter asked and everyone laughed when Clancy smacked him on the back of the head.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she asked and everyone but Harry nodded.  “Rules on fraternization ended when Garrett walked out the door just now.  They’re not partners anymore.”

Ty stole one more kiss, looking at his husband with so much love that Zane thought he might drown in it.  “Oh, we are. From now until forever. Just not professionally speaking.”

Everyone had a hundred and one different questions, which they expected.  Zane held up his hand to silence them all. “I heard there was talk of a party.  And now that I don’t have to go home to celebrate with Ty, why don’t we meet there and you can ask all the questions you want?”

They all agreed and went their separate ways, Clancy announcing it was now a retirement-slash-wedding celebration.  

Once alone, Zane pulled his husband close.  “I love you, doll. Have I told you that, lately?”

“Every day, darlin’, and I will never get tired of hearing about it.  Ready?”

While Zane knew Ty was asking about the party, there were so many other connotations to that question.  And the answer to all of them was “Yes”. Zane was ready for this next stage in their lives, whatever it might bring.

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on [tumblr](http://astudyinfic.tumblr.com), [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/astudyinfic) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/astudyinfic)
> 
> Also, we made a [Cut & Run discord channel](https://discord.gg/KFfErkb) if anyone is interested in joining and yelling at us about the books we all love.


End file.
